Saturday, July 26, 2014

Rated : RStars: Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert, Gene SiskelDirector: Steve JamesGenre: DocumentaryLife Itself, the straight forward documentary about the life and times--and unfortunate death--of the world's most recognizable film critic, Roger Ebert, is difficult to watch. Well, about half of it is anyway. More on that in a moment. It's always good to learn something you didn't know before, and what we learn here, in most entertaining fashion, is the real skinny on the relationship between Ebert and his longtime partner in crime, Gene Siskel. Siskel and Ebert was like an arranged marriage of two partners who initially seemed to hate each other, but later grew to respect, and yes, maybe even share a little love. The show, which introduced the phrase "Two Thumbs Up" into our common vernacular, had all the overtones of a sibling rivalry between two adolescents constantly sniping at each other. The funniest part of LifeItself is the outtakes of the two of them trying to get through the taping of a promo for the show, too raunchy to ever be broadcast on network television. But about half of the film, or so it seems-I wasn't counting minutes--shows Roger Ebert after his cancer surgeries. He was unable to speak, and there's no other way to honestly put this...he was grotesque looking. That he didn't mind being filmed in this condition showed that he wasn't going to let vanity get in the way of showing and telling his story exactly as it was, right up to the end. But after a while I just had to look away from the screen during the hospital segments. As we look back on the life of Roger Ebert, and his collaboration with Gene Siskel, it reinforces one undeniable truth about the movies--and that is that there are no good films, and there are no bad films. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Grade: B --

JILL'S TAKE

I'm in complete agreement with Tim about the discomfort induced by seeing Roger Ebert minus his jawbone. As cheerfully as he and his wife Chaz soldiered on, acting as if nothing was really amiss, I was eventually repulsed by the dangling skin that once housed his chin. Ebert wanted us to witness this. I think part of his motivation was due to the fact that Gene Siskel, who died at age 53 of a brain tumor, didn't tell anyone other than his wife about his condition. Including his partner. This hurt Roger Ebert immeasurably—thus he vowed never to be secretive about his own failing health.

But enough about the down side of Life Itself. Kudos go out to director Steve James for keeping this 2-hour documentary engrossing from start to finish. I loved the various film clips, interviews with people like Martin Scorcese and Werner Herzog. It was also interesting to see how much power film critics have over a movie's success or failure. From the very beginning of his life, Ebert was first and foremost a writer. A beautiful and gifted writer at that. Deserving of his Pulitzer Prize, he shared his love of the movies with us— made us think about what we liked and didn't like. Unfortunately, so much of this film was shot after the thyroid cancer had destroyed a good portion of his face that I can't recommend it wholeheartedly. I wonder if Roger Ebert would give it a "Thumbs Up" if he were reviewing it?

Also from Tim Schaefer...

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This site is a labor of love. My real job is: ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT SPITTOON CLEANER. It's an honest living, and I have a lot of time to think and write while waiting for the head spittoon cleaner, and the assistant spittoon cleaner, and the assistant to the assistant spittoon cleaner to call in drunk, which gives me my chance to really SHINE!

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WELCOME TO TIMMY'S NOODLE !

When I was a little kid my family would take me to the movies, but I don't remember ever arriving on time to see the beginning of the film. That was okay because, in those days, theatres would let you pay your admission and watch the picture more than once, if you so desired. (These were single screen theatres, so you didn't have people viewing one film and then trying to sneak into another--a not uncommon occurrence at today's multiplexes.) The theatre was a convenient place for vagrants to snooze the day away. (Now it's the public library!)

We'd watch the movie from whatever point it had progressed to when we arrived, then catch the first fifteen minutes or so during the next showing, finally grasping--in a somewhat anti-climactic way--what we hadn't understood about the characters and the plot because we'd missed certain critical information at the beginning.

And that's how the phrase "THIS IS WHERE WE CAME IN" was born.

It seemed lots of people were accustomed to viewing films in this casual manner because, after all, it was only "entertainment." But somewhere along the way, the theatre owners realized they could put more butts in the seats (and thus reap more profits) by booting everyone out after each showing and making them pay twice if they wanted to see the flick again. The unintended consequence of the policy was that it generated a newfound respect for the medium of film, if only from the standpoint that everyone started showing up on time to see the production in its entirety.

We've come a long way from those Doris Day movies of the fifties where the film censors dictated that if a man and woman were reclining upon a bed, they'd have to have at least one foot touching the floor! Today, every issue and situation that affects our lives is portrayed frankly--and graphically--in film. And that makes the medium more relevant to our lives than ever before. With that in mind, come take a look at what's inside Timmy's Noodle.

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Lenny Bruce died for our speech

TIMOTEO ON ACTING: We cannot pretend in our minds to NOT be doing something we are ACTUALLY doing, and then dismiss it as just "acting." Acting is living out one's fantasies without having to take responsibility for it.

BARF!

Because we want you to have a HEALTHY movie going experience, Timmy's Noodle will not knowingly review films that have a promotional tie-in (little action figures to lure kids into the burger joint, etc.) with a fast food restaurant chain!